Rush Limbaugh's Disturbing Hold on His Listeners

Image from source, RushLimbaugh.com

I've commented previously that Rush Limbaugh creeps me the hell out. He is--by far--more than merely a right wing radio bloviator. He fancies himself as an entertainer, Keith Olbermann refers to him as "the comedian." My preferred designation is cult leader. The thrall he holds over his listeners is downright frightening.

Now, you might dismiss me as paranoid, or just biased against right-wing pundits in general. And you might be just a little correct, but that's not all there is to it. I've reported earlier on this blog about how Rush often tells his fans that they don't need to get their news anywhere else, he'll do the work for them. On his website, he gives his listeners marching orders. And today, in a facetious ramble about supporting Sen. Barack Obama for President, he said the following:

"So, using their guidance and using their thought processes, how about, ladies and gentlemen, if I were to announce today and use my powers as a pied piper over all of you mind-numbed robots to declare our support for Obama, for this reason: Some of the key issues that our candidate supports are signature issues of McCain."

Now, you might claim that Rush is just being funny. . .jabbing at liberals like me, who think of him and his dittoheads precisely as he described in the bold letters above. And you might be right, unless you heard the phone call that followed shortly after that:

RUSH: What are you going to do?
CALLER: Well, I'm a member of -- I'm an op for chaos.
RUSH: And so what are you going to do?
CALLER: Well, I'm going to do whatever you say, basically, I just can't bring myself to vote for McCain.
RUSH: A-ha. Well, what if I told you to vote Obama?
CALLER: That's classic. If you were serious, I'd do it. . .

Now really, how far is it from that kind of talk to the big drum of special kool-aid?

Source: Rush Limbaugh

Another Quick Rush Limbaugh Post

Photo from Las Vegas Gleaner

I had another thought that didn't fit in my previous Rush Limbaugh Operation Chaos post. Just a quick observation to ask "is Rush anywhere nearly as influential and relevant as he thinks he is?"

Let's just go over a bit of quick history:

Rush opposed John McCain with undisguised disgust. He urged his listeners to vote for another candidate.

Rush thought that Hillary Clinton was an easier candidate to beat than Barack Obama, so he instituted Operation Chaos, to help her stay in the race--and hopefully win the nomination.

Now, despite his best efforts, John McCain and Barack Obama are the presumptive nominees of their respective parties. Rush's fans--as devoted and obedient as they are--were unable to even come close to achieving their master's goal.

As my previous post shows, Rush has now "adjusted" his way of thinking, saying that it is Obama that is the weaker candidate. So I have a prediction to make. If Barack Obama beats John McCain in the fall--particularly if there is a mass exodus from the Republican Party (or an apathetic faction that stays home), Rush will say it was all part of his plan. He'll say that the next President will be faced with daunting tasks, and better to dump it all on a Democrat so that they can take the blame.

Friendly wager, anyone?

Rush Limbaugh Treats Listeners Like Fools

Before John McCain became the Republican nominee for President, Rush Limbaugh assailed him. He came very close to saying he wouldn't even vote for the guy. After McCain was in, Limbaugh shifted gears, and started his dubious Operation Chaos, an attempt to confuse and corrupt the Democratic primaries, and help Hillary Clinton stay in the race, because he believed her to be the easiest for McCain to beat.

Now that his efforts in that endeavor have proven to be negligable at best, he's flip-flopped. He's saying he "now believes" that Barack Obama is the weaker candidate. Mmm hmmm. And no matter what he says, or how he behaves, his lock-steppy listeners fall right into line. Rush obviously possesses a powerful charisma that completely elludes me, I can only say that his listeners are lucky he hasn't decided to become a cult leader. Or, I suppose, you could argue that he already is. He regularly ladles out the metaphorical Kool-Aid, and his ditto-heads greedily drink it up.

Just check out this screen grab from his site (top of post). Can you even imagine if MoveOn.org or Michael Moore had a campaign like this, with "official orders?" This is not an isolated example, or something out of character for Rush. He regularly tells listeners that they need no other source than him. One of his popular items for sale is a "Rush is Right!" bumper sticker. How far is it from metaphorical to literal Kool-Aid?

[Excerpt]

Limbaugh comes out for Obama

He has publicly urged Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton to keep the divisive Democratic nomination fight alive, but talk radio host Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday it's Barack Obama who he really wants to be the party's nominee.

"I now believe he would be the weakest of the Democrat nominees," Limbaugh, among the most powerful voices in conservative radio, said on his program. "I now urge the Democrat supereldegates to make your mind up and publicly go for Obama. . ."

Read more at: CNN

Hog Roast at Rush Limbaugh's House!

Image from source, Liberal Talk Radio

I got a chuckle out of this post, which is a response to Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos." As part of his master plan to destroy the Democrats' chances at winning the Presidency, Limbaugh is trying to get his "ditto-heads" to do his dirty work.

He went so far as to "dream" of riots at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The writer of this piece has an idea for turning the tables on Rush.

[Excerpt]

Rambling about Rush, Roseanne, radio, and riots

. . .Limbaugh doesn't give a shit what happens to the world just so long as his money's safe and nobody walks across his lawn.

And that was the basis of the idea I initially had. Since Limbaugh was calling for a massive assault on Denver, I thought it would be cool to bring the party to his house. I call it "Operation Hog Roast." We'd descend on Palm Beach, FL, set up tents in his front yard, leave beer cans all over, piss in his bushes, fornicate in the flower beds, score pills behind the local Denny's and go four-wheeling on his favorite golf course. The kicker would be very appropriate - we'd cap it off a massive pig roast! . . .

Read more at: Liberal Talk Radio